Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles

This is a new sort of incarnation for the series in many ways. It eliminates the survival-horror and replaces it with running and gunning. Not that this is a bad thing - I quite enjoyed the change of pace from "how do I combine these things?", "what does this thing even do?" and "Oh, God, I forgot to use this back there, now I have to backtrack" to the much less frustrating "shoot, kill, throw grenade, listen to one-liner, shoot some more". There is no new story to absorb, just a refurbished stroll through the Resident Evil time-line, which makes storytelling as simple as replaying key events from throughout the series. It isn't groundbreaking or revolutionary in any way, just another installment in the franchise. However, I liked the added behind-the-scenes levels which told a bit more about the shady Umbrella Corporation and the backstories of certain characters, and the linearity helps to explain the sequence of events more. There isn't much about this game I can hold to fault, just don't buy it expecting any new story lines. All in all, it is a solid rail shooter without any serious defects save for the fact that Albert Wesker's cretinous voice seems to want to narrate the entire game.